Once upon an Offer
by madcat1522
Summary: Non-magical AU Belle, the local librarian is trying to pull together the Miners Day festival, but she needs a little help. The towns most feared man may just make her an offer she cant refuse.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first attempt at this, so try and be kind. I really hope you enjoy! I don't own OUAT**

Belle slowly closed the door to the library, it was 5:15 and she was closing up for the day. She locked the door and began to walk to her car, it was spring time in Storybrook, but there was still a mild chill in the air, she hugged herself into her thin white sweater, praying inwardly that the coming weeks would be warmer.

Storybrook rarely warmed up until later in the spring, may at the very least. Belle had little experience with the small town's temperamental weather, as she had lived there less than a year. She had never seen herself living in such a small, cold place but early last year, not long after graduating college, her mother had passed away, and with a father that had been negligent since her birth, she was alone save for her boyfriend of 3 years, George Gaston. Unable to Cope with Belles grieving at the loss of her mother, George had left her not long after the funeral, leaving her completely alone.

It was then that she decided that she needed a radical life change, Mary-Margaret, her newly married, best friend since high school, had contacted her telling her about the open position of librarian in the town that Mary-Margaret and her husband David had just moved to. Knowing she had nothing to lose Belle packed up her Boston apartment and moved to Maine.

Though she had never pictured herself ending up as a small town librarian, she had carved out a good life for herself, allowing her to heal properly. As English major she was well suited to the job of librarian and she had already made some of the best friendships of her life, not only did she have Mary-Margaret, but they had become very close with Emma swan, the towns sheriff's Deputy, as well as Ruby Lucas, a waitress at the local Diner.

Belle was living in the small above the library, it was small, but she didn't need much space and it made getting to work on time effortless. On an average day she would lock the library doors and head up stairs to make dinner, watch TV, or delve into a good book. Tonight she made the short trek from the library to her car because she had promised to meet Ruby at Granny's for dinner. Ruby had recently gone through yet another rough breakup and Belle was spending much of her free time helping her cope.

"It's okay; there are quite a few other guys in this town. You will find some else, you always do." Belle said unreassuredly as she sat down at newly cleaned booth with Ruby

"I don't know, I really thought it would be different this time, he's a doctor after all"

Ruby had a point; the town's local doctor was a vast improvement from the low lives Ruby normally went for. "What were his reasons for breaking it off" Belle asked cautiously

"He's looking for something more serious"

"Are you not serious?" Belle questioned

"Well… yes, I really really like him, but I don't know I just don't see myself as the settling down type"

Then maybe you should think about if you care for him enough to want to settle down with him. If he is worth it, you need to tell him"

Ruby nodded looking down at her coffee. Belle truly felt for her, she could plainly see that she was mad about the guy. They passed the rest of their dinner in an attempt at happy conversation, she even managed to make ruby smile a few times and as Belle left the she felt that her friend would be okay for now.

Leaving the diner she looked lazily at the street and the few people milling around, she was about to get in her car when she noticed something a bit unusual. Mr. Gold, the towns lawyer and pawn broker, was closing the door to his shop and leaving for the day. It wasn't that this simple act was strange; it was more that Belle had never spotted him on the street before. In fact, the only time she had met him was when she had entered his shop in search for a gift to send to her old college roommate. He had been perfectly polite at the time, but the man carried a fearsome reputation as a shrewd and relentless business man. Belle only realized she was starring when their eyes met from across the street; she then embarrassedly got into her car and drove off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I've had such a positive response right off that bat, so I've decided to add the next chapter early! hope you are enjoying! also sorry for the bad formatting, i'm still getting used to this.**

The next few days had passed with little consequence, Belle had met Emma, Ruby and Mary-Margaret for their weekly girl's night, Ruby and Dr. Whale had worked things out, and Belle had sorted away a new shipment of books at the library. Everything was running as normal except for one Monday when the mayor had stopped by the library to deliver an envelope containing paperwork about the Storybrook annual Miners Day Festival. Belle had just moved in during the last miner's day festival so she hadn't been expected to throw anything together. This year however, she had a lot riding on her. Traditionally the town librarian organized a dinner party/ auction that took place during the evening on miner's day and benefited the local hospital.

Belle had assured the Mayor that she had it under control, but in truth she had no idea how to begin. The location was the easy part, the was a lovely grassy area just behind granny's that would be perfect for a few tables and a stage for the auction, the food was also easy Granny would probably be more than happy to cater and Belle could solicit her friends to help set up and serve drinks. The main problem was going to be what to auction off.

Bell consulted Mary-Margaret, who was normally wonderful and coming up with creative ideas.

"I have absolutely no idea" Mary-Margaret stated when Belle had stopped by her home to ask for ideas.

"But you're my ideas man!" retorted Belle

"yeah, but trying to come up with things that people will buy, and not just little things but things that people will drop a lot of money on is a whole other story"

Belle sighed in frustration "What if we did a win-a-date type thing?"

"Yeah, but you and Emma are the only single girls in town"

"Well, two items down, god knows how many to go"

"And that's only if Emma agrees" Mary-Margaret wasn't making things any easier. Out of nowhere an idea struck Belle.

"Mary-Margaret, for an auction we need lots of valuable things that people will pay for"

"Yes" said Mary-Margaret hesitantly

"Who in town has rooms full of lots of valuable junk?"

"You can't be serious" said Mary-Margaret, her eyes widening

"Gold" said Belle

Much to Mary-Margaret's protesting Belle thought her idea was genius. He had an entire shop and backroom filled with lovely antiques, surly he could donate a few to such a worthy cause. The day after talking to her friend Belle mustered the courage to go to Gold's shop to ask for donations. She was unexpectedly nervous; as she walked to the door to the pawn shop she smoothed her skirt with sweaty palms and wondered if it would be better to turn around.

Boldly opening the door she set off the little bell attached to it. The shop was void of human presence, and as she walked around the dimly lit room she wondered if gold had left and forgot to lock up. Just then the man himself appeared from behind a curtain leading to a back room. He leaned heavily on his cane and asked what he could help her with.

"Well" Belle said, her voice sounding weak "as you may know I'm in charge of arranging the Miners day auction."

Belle looked at Gold; he starred at her blankly, revealing nothing. "Go on"

"And well, I was informed that you may be willing to donate some items for said auction" Not sure what prompted her to lie, she look at some old watches in a case, trying to avoid eye contact.

"And who, pray tell, told you that"

"The mayor" she lied again

"Well you can tell _the mayor_ that I have no interest in your little auction" he stated with cool venom

Her heart broke a little "why" she said feeling like a child.

"Because, dearie, there is nothing in It for me"

Belle thought quickly for a clever response, anger growing in her stomach all the while "What if there was something in it for you?"

He narrowed his eyes at her "Nothing you have is of any interest to me"

"Fine" she said sadly, she had to get out of there quickly. For no good reason his coldness had impacted her on a personal level. She turned around quickly and began towards the door when from behind her she heard a small "wait"


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! Once again, thanks for the great response! I'm still experimenting with formatting so have patience. You guys a great!**

"I'll make you a deal"

"Okay" said belle hesitantly walking back over to him

"I have a… meeting of sorts that I must attend" he said hesitantly "I require someone to accompany me to this meeting"

"You need a date" said Belle raising an eyebrow

"No, not a date, I just need someone to, let's say, make me look good for one evening"

"Is that all?" she said, not really believing that was the extent of the situation

"Yes, you join me, for the evening, and I'll donate some items of value to your auction"

Belle was still unsure of what this meant, but at this point she had little choice but to accept his offer. "You have a deal"

"Excellent" he said with a small grin "I'll see you next Friday evening then."

Belle walked home, stunned by the events that had just taken place, questions burned through her mind why would he want me to go to this meeting with him and what exactly was this meeting. She consoled herself with the idea that it was only one evening and she would completely solve her Miners Day problem.

The next day she met Emma for lunch at Granny's. Belle had debated the whole way there weather or not to tell Emma about the deal she made with Gold, but after sitting down and ordering she found she couldn't contain the information.

"You did what?" Emma said, shock ringing in every syllable

"It's just one night, and the auction will be totally funded"

"You don't know what he means by meeting, and everybody knows that gold's deals never work out well for the person on the other end" Emma said grimly

"Well, it's a done now" Belle said miserably, doubt clouding her mind.

"Hey, it might be fun" Emma said with more sarcasm then was necessary.

The two women laughed through the rest of lunch, trying imagining Gold's idea of fun. Belle spent the rest of the week putting things together for the festival, it was still three weeks off, but preparation eased her mind. Her other two friends had had similar reactions to Emma's when they heard the news, but they all agreed that as long as he kept to his word and it was JUST a meeting that it would be worth it to gain all the goods for the auction.

When Friday evening rolled around Belle closed the library a few minutes early, giving her just enough time to get ready. She headed up stairs and began to search through her closet, part of the deal was that she had to make him "look good" that part would be easy. She picked out her favorite dress. A short black thing with lace sleeves and a slightly revealing sweetheart neckline with a pair of strappy platform heals to match. She looked in the mirror and applauded herself inwardly, she was not vain but she could tell she looked good.

Heading out she grabbed a jacket and decided to walk to Gold's shop, a decision she soon regretted as she looked quite strange walking down the street dressed this way. Nearing the door she felt unwelcome nerves again, taking a deep breath she stepped inside. Gold was leaning over the counter as she walked in, the look of pleased, shock on his face made her heart jump.

"Well well, looks like your holding up your end of the bargain quite nicely" he said, a devilish smile curling at the corners of his lips.

As much as Belle resented his comment she couldn't help but notice he looked very good as well, wearing a perfectly tailored suit with all back tie and shirt. She couldn't help but think that he was quite good looking for an older man, but she quickly squashed the thought and retorted "so what exactly is this meeting anyway?"

"Well" he said "it's a bit complex, you see we are having dinner with some friends of mine and being someone of influence and means, I'm expected to… have someone"

"You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend" she said blandly

He eyed her for a moment, trying to detect sarcasm, but he did not find any. "Yes."

Belle nodded, although this wasn't good news, she didn't know what else she had expected. "Let's get this over with"

He smiled grimly leading her out the door and to his shiny black Rolls Royce, going as far as to open the door for her. They spoke little as they headed out of town; they were meeting these friends in a nearby city at the nicest dining establishment it had to offer.

They entered the restaurant together, Belle looping her arm through his only to improve on the image that they were madly in love, the dinner passed with little consequence. Belle was polite and contributed to the conversation when appropriate. The only moment that made Belle wonder was when she though she saw gold staring at her, but she wrote it off as him trying to legitimize their ruse. She could almost say it was a pleasant dinner.

As they drove back to Storybrook all was quiet and Belle thought only of home and sleep. Out of nowhere she heard gold utter a small but true "thank you" breaking her out of her thoughts, she was stunned, and he sounded truly vulnerable. She looked at him, still stunned "your welcome" she managed.

"I" he stuttered "I wanted to say, you look truly stunning tonight"

Where this was coming from she didn't know, all she knew is that the butterflies she was experiencing were threatening to tear a hole in her stomach. She smiled at him, an honest smile. They reached the library and he came around to open the door for her. There were a million things she wanted to say but none of them reached the surface.

She began to walk toward the door when she felt Gold grab her wrist, turning around he let go. "If you would like to come by my home, say, Sunday afternoon we could discuss the items for the auction"

"Okay" she said smoothly "I'll see you then" she smiled and made her way inside, baffled by the events of the evening.

**Also, I wanted to let you guys know i'm planning on 9 chapters, and they are all pretty much written so, you wont**

**have to wait long!**


	4. Chapter 4

Belle spent Saturday trying to avoiding her friends, it wasn't that she didn't want to talk to them it was that she was too confused about things at present to try and put it into words for them. But her plan was foiled when Ruby and Mary-Margaret came knocking at her door, bringing lunch.

"Spill all the details" pried Ruby.

"It was really just a normal dinner" Belle insisted "I just met his friends, we ate and left"

"Tough one of them, Milah I think her name was, really didn't seem to like Gold much" Belle added as an afterthought . The woman had been extremely cold to him the whole dinner and she wondered why he esteemed her as a friend.

"Milah?" Ruby said in shock "You know who that is, right?"

"No…" said Belle suddenly worried.

"That's Gold's ex-wife"

Belle was stunned "That must be why he didn't want go alone" she said, somewhat relieved "Mila just got remarried. Gold must have not wanted to seem alone"

They passed the rest of lunch feeling like maybe they and misjudged the man, which for some reason didn't make Belle feel any better about seeing him the next day.

Sunday afternoon came slowly and when it did she dressed in a lovely but casual skirt and top and left to find gold's home. She had never been to or seen his home, but she knew by reputation its general whereabouts. Sure enough she found a large antique looking house, over grown with vines and with a black Rolls Royce sitting in the driveway. She parked and made her way up the stone path, the home was beautiful and she admired the stained glass set into the front door. She rang the doorbell and a moment later she heard the thud of a cane heading toward the door, he opened it and welcomed her in with a genuine smile. A long entry way lead into a large and well-kept kitchen with a sitting room just off it, to which he led her. The house felt just as much like an antique store as his pawn shop did. Every corner was filled with some beautiful and fragile object.

"What do you think?" he asked

"Your home is absolutely lovely" she said will more thrill in her voice then she intended.

He smiled at her, and then Belle noticed over his shoulder a large pile of objects that weren't placed with as much care as the rest of his collection. He followed her eye "awe yes, those are the items you may sort through and use for your auction". Belle ran over to the pile with trill, there were so many wonderful things, large and beautiful paintings, boxes of expensive watches, antique tea sets and other rare and collectable items. There had to be at least $10,000 worth of stuff. She finally looked up; trying to keep back tears of joy and gratitude, gold was busy making tea. He walked over and handed her a cup.

"Now don't cry dearie, it's just a few things I've had lying around here for ages"

She smiled at him trembling; suddenly she heard a small crash. She had dropped her cup sending tea everywhere. They bent down simultaneously, Belle apologizing profusely. She grabbed a dish cloth from the kitchen counter and began mopping things up, Gold giggled at her, assuring her it was no problem. Finally she picked up the broken teacup. "It's chipped"

He looked at her puzzled "it's just a cup." She smiled at him with relief.

"Perhaps we were meant to have something a bit stronger anyway." He said as he made his way to a cabinet, pulling out a bottle of wine. She poured them each a glass and Belle fallowed him to the couch in the sitting room. She sipped it carefully, trying to get ahold of her feelings. She looked at him only the light from the fire playing on his face, as the sun had gone down not long ago. She couldn't help but imagine herself rapped in his arms, what he must smell like or what his breath would feel like dancing across her skin. It was hard to justify feelings for him, he was the town monster, their own relationship starting badly and he was probably twice her age. In that moment she tried to be brave, more than anything she wanted to discern his feelings for her.

"Why?" she blurted out "why did you do this for me?"

He studied her face for a moment "I thought it would please you"

Belle looked at him for a long time, his expression unreadable. Again there were a million things to say but none of them came out. She could see the growing expression of regret spread across his face. Embarrassed, she suddenly stood up. "I should go" he looked away from her and nodded. Walking away he felt hot tears began to build in her eyes. As she reached out to open the door a hand suddenly stopped her, she turned, coming face to face with gold. He put his other hand on her waste and pulling her forward he looked her in the eye as their noses brushed. The heat within her mounting, she gently let her lips connect with his. She put a hand on the back of his head, curling her fingers in his hair and drawing him closer. The kiss was slow and lasted what seemed like hours, Gold feeling the skin on her collarbone all the while. He finally pulled away from her ever so slightly, looking her deeply in the eye. She smiled and bowed her head slightly before exiting the door.


	5. Chapter 5

**So I jst realised i uploaded some things out of order. Im SO sorry. THIS is the real chapter 5**

Two weeks had passed since the kiss and Belle had not seen or heard from gold, the closest thing to contact they had was a delivery man dropping off the auction items to the library. Not that she had put forth any effort to contact him. She was too frightened, she told herself over and over again that it was a fluke and that he didn't actually care about her. But then another part of her replayed the kiss and the way he said "I thought it would please you". The only progress she had made was admitting to herself that she did in fact care for him. Instead of facing the issue she threw herself into her job and planning for the festival, which was coming together perfectly.

She told her friends about all that had transpired between her and Gold. Much to her surprise they hadn't condemned her actions or though she was being stupid, at least not totally. It was obvious that they did not approve of gold, but they managed to sympathize with her situation and together they brainstormed what to do.

"You should just tell him" said Mary-Margaret brightly.

"Yeah, I'll just go over to his house and tell him. It's not like I can text him, I don't think he even has a cell phone…" Belle replied sarcastically.

"What if you just, bumped into him" added Ruby

"That's not a bad idea, but where would I do that? I've only ever seen him at his shop and at home, and randomly being at either of those places would look highly suspicious" Belle added with a laugh

Emma looked at Belle seriously; clearly she had just come up with a brilliant idea "What about somewhere else… like the auction. You would have to wait a week, but he'll be at there. He has to be."

"I don't know" said Belle, stress further building in her system "I'll just wait and see what happens, for all I know he could planning to come see me tomorrow" The women all agreed harmoniously and switched topic, rehashing Ruby's probably engagement.

Belle heard nothing from him, and with only one day until the festival Belles stress levels were reaching an all-time high. She planned everything meticulously and on the evening before the big day she and Mary-Margaret went over to decorate the area the dinner and auction would take place. By the time they were done you could hardly recognize the small grassy enclosure. They had stung small lights over everything creating a canopy affect under which were set up small round tables. The focal point was a low wooden stage with a podium for the auction. Tomorrow long tables with food a bar would be set up. Before that Belle would have to organize all the auction items. She intended the less valuable items to be auctioned first, culminating in Emma and Belle being auction off for a date with the highest bidder. It had taken a lot to convince Emma to do it, but after all it was for a good cause


	6. Chapter 6

**Once again, so sorry for the mix up. This is the real chapter six. Enjoy.**

Miner's day had flown by in a hurry, Belle tried to stop at some of the booths and enjoy some of the festivities, even buying several candles from the nuns, but she didn't have much time for frivolities with so much to do. By the time she had laid out the auction schedule, set up the bar and food table and got everyone who had agreed to help her assigned to their jobs, she barely had time to run home and get ready. She had purchased the most lovely floor length red dress for the occasion. The invitations only required dinner wear, but the floaty cotton fabric gave an heir of springtime and it hugged her curves perfectly. She check her appearance before running out the door, her lose curly hair, bold red lips and chunky wedge heels set the look off perfectly.

She arrived the same time as the first of the guests, so technically she wasn't running late. Ruby was already milling around serving drinks, her probable fiancé, James Whale admiring her from a seat at a table. Mary-Margaret was filling Granny in on the order the items were to be auctioned off in (granny was to be the auctioneer) and finally Emma and David were bringing out beautiful trays of food and displaying them on the buffet-style table. The whole thing looked perfect.

As more guests arrived the tables filled up leaving only a few empty seats. Belle was panicking; Gold had not showed up yet. She busied herself helping Ruby serve drinks.

"You should just sit down and enjoy yourself, I can handle this" Ruby said, worried about her friend

"I can't, I need to keep my mind busy" Ruby looked at her sternly "okay okay, he hasn't shown up yet and I'm starting to worry"

"Belle, he's probably just being fashionably late, its only quarter after"

Belle walked back with another tray of drinks, some people had finished eating and were making their way to the small dance area to sway to the music. Just as Belle placed the last drink something caught here eye. Gold was making is way slowly through the entryway, wearing the same all black suit he had worn on their date. The butterflies in Belles stomach sprang to life. She nonchalantly walked over to Emma who was fiddling with the music system, not wanting to seem too eager to see him.

"He's here" she whispered to Emma

"Well, go talk to him" Emma said frankly. Too busy with her attempted DJ-ing to give Belle much advice.

Belle gathered all the courage she held and made her way over to Gold, who was now sitting at a table. "What do you think?" she asked sitting down beside him

"It's truly glorious" he stated looking her straight in the eye.

"I didn't think you would come" she regretted saying it as soon as the words left her mouth.

"I wanted to see you" he replied

The butterflies is her stomach jumped at the statement. "Would you like to dance with me?" It took her a minute to absorb his question. "Of course."

She took his hand as he led her to the small area cleared for dancing; they swayed to the music inching closer together as they went. He smelled wonderful and thoughts of their lips and bodies together crept back into her mind. She looked around at the scene, Mary-Margaret danced with her husband, Ruby was giggling as she fed the doctor strawberries from her plate and all the guests looked generally content and happy. Even the mayor looked pleased. She had done a good job. The only thing left was the auction.

Belle looked up at Gold, she would rather die than break this perfect moment but she had to keep thing running on schedule. "I have to go start the auction" she said bleakly. He nodded still holding her. "Please stay" she added to his silence. He gave her a small smile the almost said _as you wish_. She broke away from him, but she could feel his eyes on her as she walked away.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, once again thank you for the wonderful reviews, only one (maybe two) more chapters left after this!**

**Hopefully the auction scene is easy to read and understand, I had a bit of trouble writing it.**

Belle gathered Mary-Margaret, Emma and Granny and they all made their way to the stage. Belle hesitated and she began to walk up the steps, looking back at Mary-Margaret she said "Belle you'll do just fine and I'll be right beside you." Belle stepped up to the podium "Hello everybody, I'm so pleased to welcome you to the annual Miners day auction. I would like to start by thanking everyone who has already contributed to the event, it has been a great privilege of mine to plan it" she scanned the crowd quickly but didn't spot Gold "And I would like to wish you all happy bidding" with that She stepped aside and let Granny start the auction.

The first few items sold no problem, all be it at rather small prices. Belle switched off paying attention to the auction and scanning for gold. The lights and crowd made it hard for her to be sure he was really missing. Some of the bigger items brought in a good amount of money and Belle thought that even if they don't hit the goal at least they would have a good amount to donate. Only as the last few items came up did she remember _she_ was being auctioned too. Sure it was only for a date, but what if no one bid on her, she would die of shame.

"And now for our last to and most valuable items" Granny announced "first up, a date with our lovely sheriff's deputy Emma Swan"

Emma stepped on the stage, looking lovely in a tight black dress and black platforms.

"let's start the bidding at $50" called Granny.

Jefferson, a rumored to be wealthy, recluse that had recently taken an interest in Emma raised his hand

"great, do we have $75?" Neil Cassidy, David's friend from out of town raised his hand.

"Do we have $100" Jefferson raised his hand again.

Emma looked mortified, as much as Jefferson liked Emma , but she hated the guy.

"$125" Killian Jones, a local recently returned for the navy, raised his hand from way in the back.

"$150" Neil raised his hand.

"$175" Killian this time.

It went on like this for a while, Jefferson gave up halfway in and it was just Neal and Killian. The bid reached $300. Neil glared at Killian, but shook his head in defeat. Killian raised his hand.

"Going once, going twice, sold to Killian Jones" Killian sat back looking very please, and as Belle noticed, Emma looked rather happy herself. Belles stomach turned, she wasn't nearly as popular or well known as Emma so she surely wouldn't fetch as much, but she put on a brave face and stepped up.

"And for our final auction for the night, our lovely host Mrs. Belle French" declared Granny " lets start at $50"

There was a long pause, and then Ruby raised her hand in an effort to help her friend. _Oh god _thought Belle.

"Do we have $75" called Granny. There was another long pause before someone Belle didn't know raised their hand.

Alright, how about $100" Jefferson was about to raise his hand when someone from the back called

"I bit 2000 dollars" Belle was shocked, as was the crowed. She moved forward to get a better look at who it was. But she already knew, only one person in town had a Scottish accent.

Everyone stood in silent shock, until Granny had enough sense to announce Mr. Gold as the winner and give the podium over to Mary-Margaret to give the final speech. As Mary-Margaret spoke Belle exited the stage, all eyes still on her. Emma looked at her only managing to say "Damn". Mary-Margaret finished up, everyone applauded and began to exit.

Belle wormed her way through the crowed searching for Gold, she spotted him standing in a dark corner by the entrance. She fought for the right words to say, everything from accusing him of embarrassing her to questioning why he would do such a thing. The only thing that came out was "thank You".

"You're worth every penny" he replied with a small smile.

She wanted more than ever to be in his arms, but she just stood there awkwardly

"What are your plans for the rest of the evening?" gold added

It was already 11:00 and her only plans were to help clean up and then bed. "I think I have to stay and clean up"

"I was ever so hoping you would accompany me for a drink, I did just pay a rather large amount of money for some time with you" he said jokingly

"Give me a second" Belle said running off to find Mary-Margaret. She spotted her throwing way empty plates of food.

"I hate to do this to you, but is there any way you could handle this without me, I have somewhere I need to be" Belle blurted out.

Mary-Margaret smiled knowingly "Of course, we've got it under control"


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again, sorry its taken me so long to upload, I have been quite busy! So, just a warning, this is where the M rating comes in! I have never written love scenes/ smut before so try not to judge me too harshly!**

Belle walked back over to Gold, he took her hand and slowly led her to his car, opening the door for her. They drove to his home, Belle recounting her pleasure that the night went off well. Upon entering the home Gold removed his jacket and began to poor them each a glass of wine. He handed her a glass and sat down next to her at the kitchen bar. She leaned on her elbows, ways of exhaustion finally hitting her.

"You did a perfect job" Gold said, breaking the silence.

She smiled up at him "Thank you, and because of you we reached our donation goal"

"My pleasure" he replied slowly

"Though I highly doubt I'm worth 2000 dollars" she said teasingly

"Oh, you're worth a lot more, dearie" he said, without a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

Belle looked at him intensely, the confusion of the last few weeks fading away. She raised her head slightly and he placed his hand on her neck, bringing her face to his. Belle paused, letting the tension mount between them before finally allowing their lips to meet. They kissed long and slow before Belle slid off her stool, allowing her to get closer to him. He did the same, wrapping his hands around her back and pressing her body to his. She wanted more, but she was too scared to make a move. She let him explore her bare back with his hands and didn't fix her strap when it slid from her shoulder. He let his hand drift passed her waist line and farther down. Encourage by his move, she grabbed his tie, loosening it.

He pulled away from her lightly, looking at her intensely. "Do you want this?" he questioned. "yes" she replied under her breath. He pulled away from her and taking her hand, led her up some stairs and through a door at the end of a long hallway. It took her a moment to adjust to the dark but she soon realized she was standing in his bedroom. It was large and beautiful with a huge and ornate bed featuring prominently. As they stood there he began kissing her neck, pulling the top of her dress down, leaving her bra exposed. Encouraged she undid the top few buttons of his shirt. He lifted her face back to his and began to kiss her deeply, bringing his hand to her breast and cupping it firmly. They kissed intently as he slid his hand under her bra, feeling her bare skin, lighting her insides were on fire.

She quickly undid the rest of his shirt, pulling it off. At this move, he pulled her onto the bed then grasped her dress at her hips and pulled it off. She sat up and slowly pulled him on top of her. He leaned down, kissing her lips gently before moving down and kissing her neck, then the top of her breast and upon removing her bra, gently kissed her breast. She arched her back at the action, this was more then she had ever felt. He moved further kissing her stomach and pulling off her lace underwear. She gently spread her thighs with his hand, taking her into his mouth and making her groan with pleasure. He moved back up looking her in the eye, she grew embarrassed, realizing she was totally exposed beneath him. At this, he removed his belt and she pants.

Belle moved her hips so they touched, making them both groan. He looked at her one last time and asked "are you ready" she nodded. With that he pushed himself into her making her moan loudly. As they moved together she gripped his back, trying not to lose it too quickly. In the midst of this Belle felt his knee shaking, he walked with a bad limp and she knew he must be in pain putting weight on it like this. She gently pushed him off of her, "what's wrong" he asked surprised. With him laying down she straddled him and lowered herself onto him. He now understood. Placing his hands on her hips they moved like this until they finished simultaneously, Belle losing all sense of place, time or reality. Coming to, she moved to lay beside him and he wrapped his arms around her pulling her to his chest.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Sorry this has taken so long, the last two weeks have been some of the most crazy of my life, but I'm happy to bring you the final chapter! I cant thank you all enough for the great response. Please keep reviewing, I love reading them. Also, I plan on starting a new fan fic soon, so stay tuned! **

She woke the next morning to find herself alone in bed, she rolled over lazily to find a small note lying on the pillow beside her, it read: _Belle, I had to run to the shop early this morning, please help yourself to coffee and breakfast. _Disappointed that he wasn't there, she dressed and went down stairs to find a full coffee pot waiting for her. She stalled as long as possible drinking coffee and wondering the large house, but by 10:00 he still hadn't returned. She finally gave up and headed to Granny's to clean up whatever was left of the mess last night, quickly stopping at the library to change clothes.

Arriving Grannies she was pleased to find Mary-Margaret in the party area folding up what was left of the tables. Mary-Margaret caught sight of her and loudly announced "You will NEVER guess what happened last night". Belle froze before realizing there was no way she was talking about what had happened between her and gold last night. "What?" Belle asked hesitantly. "Ruby got engaged!" Said Mary-Margaret with glee. "That's so wonderful!" Belle said, relieved. As happy as she was for Ruby and her doctor, she was even gladder that this would overshadow her night with Gold, meaning she could put off telling them about it for a bit longer. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell them, it was just that she had a wonderful secret that she wanted to hold onto a bit longer.

Belle headed home after many hours, she had spent the day cleaning and was treated to dinner with the Nolan's. She plopped down on her old worn sofa, vaguely thinking of continuing some reading or perhaps catching up on a TV show, but she knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate. Her mind raced with thoughts like _where does this put us? Where do we stand _and _when will I see him again._ As much as these thoughts worried her she comforted herself with the memories of last night, that it actually happened, that for a moment he had been completely hers.

A knock on the door broke her from her thinking. She jumped up, praying that the person on the other side was who she wanted it to be. She opened it to face a large bouquet of red roses, a voice behind them spoke "I know they are a bit typical, but I don't know your favorite flower yet". She threw her arms around the man holding them "Orchids are my favorite, but roses are a close second" She said, beaming up at him "and considering I don't even know your first name, I can forgive you not knowing my favorite flower". "It's Richard, for future reference" He said, being lead into her small apartment.

Richard Gold sat down as Belle found a vase for the flowers, finishing up, she joined him. "Belle" he said, taking her hands in his "I… I don't want you to think that last night was a one-time thing". Belle could plainly see a pained expression cross his face as he spoke "My feeling for you are" he hesitated "deeper than that" He looked up at her with an almost sorry expression. She smiled softly and inched a bit closer to him. "I was ever so hoping you would say that" she stated, he looked back at her completely dumbfounded. "If you want this, I want this" she added. He was at a complete loss of words, only capable of pulling her into a deep and heartfelt kiss.

The next morning Belle sat at the bar at Grannies sipping her coffee, as from over the counter Ruby flashed her large diamond ring at her, Mary-Margaret and Emma. They all oohed and awed until Emma chimed in "Hey, Belle, you never told us what happened with Gold the other night". "Oh, yeah" Belles stomach suddenly jumped into her throat. "Well" she started "We…uh". "You slept with him!" blurted out Ruby, a bit too loudly. "Yeah" Belle admitted shyly. Her friends just stared at her. "But it's more than that" she continued "I really care about him and he cares about me. I guess you could say that we are together now". She looked at her friends waiting for a reaction. "So he makes you happy?" asked Mary-Margaret. "Very much so" urged Belle. "Then I think it's great" all the women agreed. The nervous feeling that her friends would think she was being stupid, melted away.

She left the dinner a bit later intending to head back to the library and get ready to open. Rain was falling softly, but somehow it was still warm. Seeing there was still 20 minutes to opening time Belle turned around, heading in the direction of the pawn shop and thinking of a short visit with her new love.


End file.
